Page 4 of Herbs & Hex-breaking

“Ask her if her little sister wants to come work for you as well.” The new voice was deep, masculine, and came from the doorway to the bookstore.

“Hey, Dex.” Lorna gave him a wave. “How was your morning work out?”

Dexter, or Dex as he preferred to be called, leaned one broad muscled shoulder against the doorframe. “It was great,” he said, smiling at Lorna.

My heart rapped hard against my ribs. Seeing the young man framed enticingly against the doorway like that had my stomach tying itself up into knots. Silently I told myself to ignore any physical reaction to him.

“She and Toni have been going through a rough patch lately,” Dex said. “They barely managed to keep from getting evicted this summer. I know they are struggling financially.”

Circe blinked at the news. “She told you that?”

“No.” Dex shook his dark shaggy hair back from his eyes. “She didn’t tell me. I saw it.”

“Oh,” Lorna said, and that one syllable was significant.

With an elegant shrug, Dex went back to the bookstore.

“That boy is spooky sometimes.” Lorna chuckled. “But you know he’s always right.”

Circe shrugged. “It’s nice to have a psychic on hand. Plus, his masculine energy helps to balance out the three of us Witches.”

“That’s one plus, I suppose,” Lorna agreed with a chuckle.

“Also,” Circe said, “it certainly doesn’t hurt that Dex is very easy on the eyes. A sleeve of tattoos down one arm. Dark hair, blue eyes, all that wonderful muscle on a long frame.” She sighed. “He’s yummy. Like a romance novel cover brought to life.”

“That’s not appropriate.” I frowned at my cousin, even as Lorna chuckled. “He’s Lorna’s employee and he’s barely legal.”

“Pfft.” Circe waved that away. “Honey, he’s twenty-six.”

“I need to finish setting up,” I muttered. Tuning away from my cousin, I busied myself at the counter.

“Me too,” Lorna said and headed for her own shop. “Good luck today, ladies. I have a feeling we’re all going to have some great sales numbers. Plus, the stars are very aligned to prosperity this week, and that will certainly help.”

Circe went back to her own store. I stayed where I was for a few minutes and tried to maintain my composure.

It was beyond embarrassing, this physical attraction I had for Lorna’s employee. First off, he was four years younger than me. And secondly, I knew that Dex had not had an easy life. He’d been sober for over two years and worked hard to stay that way. The last thing he needed was to have an older woman making googly eyes at him every time he walked in the room.

Add to that he was a talented psychic, which meant that I worked hard whenever I was around him to keep my magickal and emotional shields up and in place.

He had enough unwanted attention from the female customers at Lorna’s bookstore. She spoke to me about it sometimes, and it made me feel bad for Dex. All those women saw was the pretty package. They had no idea of what he’d gone through and how he’d suffered. In fact, when Lorna had first met him, he’d been couch-surfing at a friend’s house—basically he’d been homeless.

The original contractor that Lorna had hired to turn her property into the bookstore it was now had been shady, and she’d eventually fired the man. When someone from the Pagan community had recommended Dex as a handyman and for odd jobs, Lorna had given him a chance and he’d quickly proven himself. Once she opened her store, Dex had become a full-time employee. Now, Lorna and Dex were more than friends; they considered each other to be family.

For the past eighteen months, I’d worked very hard to project only casual friendly vibes around Dex. And so far, it was working. My attraction to him started slowly. Beyond his looks, he was just so kind. Probably because he knew what it was to be down on your luck, but he had this gentleness about him... Maybe gentle wasn’t the correct word. Because he definitely wasn’t effeminate.

He was all male.

Catching myself, I steered my thoughts away from anything inappropriate. Outside of business hours I did see him occasionally. He lived in the tiny apartment at the back of New Moon Books. While the bookstore was connected to my building on the lower level, the only entrance to his apartments was through the second floor of the bookstore. There was no rear stairs or entrance like in my section of the building, and thankfully that helped keep me from bumping into him unexpectedly.

Dex was an extremely private individual, and I truly respected that and all the work he’d done to get his life on track. The bottom line was, he was an attractive younger man. I had noticed. It was no big deal.

At least that’s what I continued to tell myself.

Shaking thoughts of Dex off, I squared my shoulders. Halloween was less than two weeks away and I wanted my shop to be ready for it. I turned the store music on, cued up a Halloween playlist, and got to work.

CHAPTER TWO

Taylor, it turned out, was thrilled for the chance to quit the bistro and to work more hours with me. Circe also spoke to her about whether or not her younger sister, Toni, would like to pick up some afternoon hours, and Taylor assured us that she would. Toni—currently a student at UAB—was delighted with the offer.